Steel agglomeration containers (SACS)

ABSTRACT

In a method for consuming fine metallic aggregate and/or metallic or non-metallic industrial by-products in a blast furnace by the use of steel agglomeration containers. The method includes the steps of putting piles and/or a blend pile of blast furnace raw material fines and/or reverts into steel containers. The method may further include sealing the containers and charging them into a blast furnace in the close vicinity of the piles or blend pile. The method may further include the feed in the container sintering before the container disintegrates in the furnace atmosphere.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 60/611565 filing date Sep. 20, 2004.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

“Not Applicable”

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX

“Not Applicable”

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a steel container filled with raw material fines (¾ inch down to dust size) and/or reverts (waste material) from the steel industry for blast furnace consumption.

Sinter, pellets, nodules and briquettes are manmade raw materials for blast furnace feed. These raw materials degrade during stockpiling, handling and transporting but SACS do not degrade out-side of the furnace.

The cold briquettes do not possess the cold and hot strength necessary to perform in the blast furnace satisfactorily. The cold briquette requires an expensive binder like bentonite clay to get enough cold and hot strength for the furnace atmosphere. The cold briquette trials in the blast furnace have increased flue dust losses and have not particularly improved furnace performance probably because of decrepitation of the briquettes in the furnace. The hot briquettes require a heat source and some sort of fuel and is an extremely expensive raw material.

The nodules require a high fuel consumption to produce and are not good blast furnace performers because of nonuniform size and inferior reducibility. Serious production problems and frequent shut downs occur in the nodulizing operation because of the rotary kilm. Formation of rings and large balls in the kilm cause shut downs.

The sintering operation requires expensive equipment and machinery with a high cost of maintainence. Environmental restrictions also call for the purchase of expensive environmental equipment. The sintering process requires screening of the small size material before it is charged in the furnace.

The pelletizing process uses fine ores that are minus ¼ inch size to be ground to powder size to produce a suitable green pellet. The green pellet must be balled or pelletized with the use of an expensive bentonite clay binder. The green pellet must be heat hardened by an ignition furnace (oil or natural gas) firing. These are expenses that do not occur with SACS.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, besides the objects and advantages of the steel agglomeration container (SAC) described in my above patent, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:

-   -   (a) To provide a SAC which is made of steel and will not degrade         during stocking, handling and transporting as do sinter,         pellets, nodules and briquettes.     -   (b) To provide a SAC filled with BOP slag fines and no need to         go to landfills, thus saving on dumping and transportation fees.     -   (c) To provide a SAC which is less expensive than more expensive         pellets and sinter.     -   (d) To provide a SAC filled with concentrate iron ore fines         and/or fine iron ore mined directly from the mine, which can         replace more expensive pelletizing or sintering operation.     -   (e) To provide a SAC which would not require expensive equipment         and maintaining this equipment for clean air as do the         pelletizing and sintering operations.     -   (f) To provide a SAC to increase production because of less         fines in the blast furnace burden. Less fines means a decrease         in the pressure drop through the blast furnace and an increase         in permeability in a smoother furnace operation.     -   (g) To provide a SAC for higher production rates with a smoother         furnace operation. The wind rate can be increased which will         increase the charges per hour increasing production.     -   (h) To provide a SAC to increase production by using the SAC as         a fluxing agent which contains iron (Fe) for the blast furnace         burden.     -   (i) To provide a SAC to decrease chemical variability in the hot         metal by using the SAC as a fluxing agent. This would require         less desulfurizing agent per heat of steel at the basic oxygen         process (B.O.P.), which would be a cost savings on the price of         steel.     -   (j) To provide a SAC as a fluxing agent and knowing the B.O.P.         slag analysis every heat will determine how much raw limestone         and/or dolomite fines to be added or subtracted from the raw         material pile. This will further stabilize the chemistry of the         hot metal.     -   (k) To provide a SAC to increase steel production because less         chemical variability in the hot metal means less variability in         making of the steel and less time required to make a heat of         steel translating to more heats per day.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, 1G are front views of each particular SAC.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G are right end views thereof.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E, 3F, 3G are perspective views thereof.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 4G are rear views thereof

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A is a metal container which has a longitudinal seam 1 and is made from a flat steel strip or sheet light gauge prime, seconds or scrap from the steel industry. The strip is formed into a cylindrical or rectangular body with the longitudinal seam 1 folded and/or welded and both ends of the body crimped 2 to customer desired length after being filled with raw material fines and/or reverts.

The operation of FIGS. A, B, C, D, E, F and G is a method of consuming fine blast furnace raw materials and/or reverts (waste material) from the steel industry into the blast furnace feed. These materials can be placed separately into their own SAC or can be combined into a single pile prior to being placed in the SAC. The raw materials and/or reverts are placed in a single pile layer upon layer by the dump truck loads. Once the pile is built to approximately six feet high, eight feet wide and fifteen to twenty feet long, it is consumed by mobile equipment equipped with a bucket. The bucket cuts up through the layers of material mixing it and delivering the bucket of material to a receiving hopper. There is a belt conveyor under this receiving hopper which delivers the material to a tube mill. The end product is shown in FIG. A. The raw material is placed on the steel strip or sheet after the second forming roll, but before the final forming roll, so that the material is in the cylindrical or rectangular body before the folding and/or welding of the body 1. A crimping machine will travel with the body while crimping the body to the size the customer desires 2. The crimped container is cut-off by a cut-off machine and drops the container on to a belt conveyor which delivers it to a RR car or truck that delivers it to the blast furnace stockyard. The SACS are charged into the blast furnace as any other raw material is charged. The material in the SAC will sinter before the steel container disintegrates in the furnace atmosphere. The newly formed red hot sinter will react in the furnace just as sinter reacts. It will melt into iron or cinder in the combustion zone of the furnace.

A ramification of the SAC is to place the raw material and/or reverts into an open-top can which can be a three piece or a two piece can FIG. B. The stockpile will be built as described above and delivered to a receiving hopper. At the bottom of this receiving hopper will be a can filling machine. This machine will fill the cans that are moving on a conveyor belt. After the open can is filled it will be crimped 2. The crimped SAC will drop into a RR car or truck for delivery to the blast furnace stockyard. The cans could be manufactured cans FIG. E or empty used open-top cans. The manufactured can could have a lid 3 placed on it and seamed 5 to form a hermetic seal. The used can could be crimped 2 and would be cheaper than a manufactured can.

Another ramification of the SAC is the manufactured steel casing of an automobile/truck oil filter FIG. G. This steel casing could have a lid 3 placed on it with a closing machine or crimped at the top FIG. G. Used oil filters can be used after being filled by placing a lid 3 spot welded 4 in place FIG. F.

A steel container filled with blast furnace raw material fines (¾ inch down to dust size) and/or reverts (waste material) from the steel industry for blast furnace consumption. This material in the steel container will replace any normal blast furnace raw material in the furnace burden except normal size coke. The blast furnace raw materials are ore fines, pellet fines, sinter fines, B.O.P. fines, limestone fines, dolomite fines, trim fines and/or coke fines. The reverts are scale, sludge, steel tailings, flue dust, C scrap, RR track clean-up or any material containing metallic iron, carbon, flux or fines, which is ¾ inch down to dust size. The steel container has a steel cylindrical or rectangular body with a longitudinal folded and/or welded seam. The steel can be thin gauge hot roll prime, seconds or scrap from the steel industry. The cheaper the steel the cheaper the steel agglomeration containers. It can be scraped steel sheets or strip. The diameter of the body will be determined by the customer of the product and their configuration of the stockyard and charging system. The SAC could be from 3 inches to 6 inches in diameter and 4 inches to 8 inches in length. The SAC will be sealed by crimping the body at both ends after the length is determined. The steel container could be a used or manufactured open top can which is crimped at the top to seal the material inside. The can could be a three piece or a two piece can. Another ramification of the SAC is the manufactured steel casing of an automobile or truck oil filter. This steel casing could have a lid placed on it with a closing machine or crimped at the top. Used oil filters can be used after being filled by placing a lid on it and spot welding the lid in place. The material within the steel container will agglomerate forming sinter before the container disintegrates in the blast furnace. The red hot sinter will react in the furnace as sinter normally reacts. It will melt into iron or cinder in the combustion zone of the furnace. There will be an increase in production because of less fines in the blast furnace burden. Less fines means a decrease in the pressure drop through the furnace and an increase in permeability resulting in a smoother furnace operation and an increase in burden descent. With a smoother furnace operation the wind rate will be increased and the charges per hour will increase resulting in higher production and less flue dust being generated. The coke fines will have to be placed in its own steel container because the coke fines will not agglomerate in the container, but could still have a decreasing effect on coke rate because of the carbon content in the coke fines. Another production increase would be using the SAC as a fluxing agent for the furnace which contains iron (Fe). Using this SAC as a fluxing agent will also smooth out variability of the chemical analysis of the hot metal delivered to the desulfurization station. This in turn would require less desulfurization agent per heat of steel which would be a cost saving on the price of steel. Less chemical variability in the hot metal means less variability in the making of the steel and less time required to make a heat of steel, which translates to more heats can be made in 24 hours, resulting in an increase in steel production. Also using the SAC as a fluxing agent and knowing the B.O.P. slag analysis every heat will determine how much raw limestone or dolomite fines will be added or subtracted from the raw material pile, further stabilizing the chemistry of the hot metal. The greatest cost saving will be the replacement of expensive iron ore, pellets or sinter with less expensive SACS. Ore concentrate and/or fine ores mined directly from the mine can be placed in SACS which would save on the cost of producing more expensive pelletizing and sintering operations. The cost of environmental equipment and maintaining this equipment for clean air for the pelletizing and sintering operation is very expensive. This expense would not be required for the steel agglomeration container. There would be no need to go to landfills thus saving on dumping and transportation fees. The SAC being made of steel will replace a portion of the metallic burden used to make iron in the blast furnace.

Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. For example, the SAC can be made of stainless steel permitting the SAC to descend deeper into the blast furnace providing higher heat to agglomerate the material in the container before the container disintegrates.

Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given. 

1. A method for consuming fine metallic aggregate within a metallic refractory lined crucible comprising the steps of: a) loading the metallic aggregate into a metallic container wherein the aggregate has a particle size of ¾ inch or less; b) sealing the metallic container; c) introducing the metallic container into a metallic refractory lined crucible; d) sintering the metallic feed in the metallic container while in the metallic refractory lined crucible.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the aggregate is at least one from the group consisting of blast furnace raw material fines, iron ore fines, pellet fines, sinter fines, B.O.P. slag fines, limestone fines, dolomite fines trim fines and coke fines.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the aggregate includes revert.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the revert is comprised of at least one industrial by-product from the group including scale, sludge, steel tailings, flue dust, C scrap, RR track clean-up or any material containing iron, steel, carbon and flux fines.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the container is made of steel.
 6. The method for consuming fine metallic aggregate according to claim 1, further including building a blend pile feed by using dump truck loads of aggregate layer upon layer, load upon load.
 7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising the step of mixing the blend pile feed prior to introduction into the container.
 8. The method for consuming fine metallic aggregate according to claim 1, wherein the container is sealed by one operation from the group consisting of crimping, seaming and spot welding.
 9. A method of producing a steel agglomeration container comprising the steps of: a) accumulating fine particle metallic aggregate; b) feeding the aggregate into a metallic container, and c) sealing the metallic container to retain the aggregate therein.
 10. An apparatus for introducing iron metallic aggregate into a metallic refractory lined crucible comprising: a) a sealed metallic container and b) metallic aggregate having a particle size of ¾ inch or less within the container.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the aggregate is at least one from the group consisting of blast furnace raw material fines, iron ore fines, pellet fines, sinter fines, B.O.P. slag fines, limestone fines, dolomite fines, trim fines and coke fines.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the aggregate includes revert.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the revert is comprised of at least one industrial by-product from the group including scale, sludge, steel tailings, flue dust, C scrap, RR track clean-up or any material containing iron, steel, carbon and flux fines.
 14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the container is made of steel. 